UN Women and Beijing Royal Charity Foundation jointly initiated the “Peer Leadership for Healthy Relationships” Program Phase 2 Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, attended the launching ceremony
(Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,Executive Director of UN Women, attended the launching ceremony)
On December 15th 2018, the launching ceremony of “Peer Leadership for Healthy Relationships” Program Phase 2, which was jointly initiated by UN Woman, Beijing Royal Charity Foundation and Beijing Royal School, was held at Beijing Royal School. The guests presented at the event were:
Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations;
Mr. Mohammad Naciri, Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and Pacific;
Mr. Tong Dawei, National UN Women Ambassador for China;
Mr. Wang Guangfa, President of Fazheng Group and Founder of Beijing Royal Charity Foundation;
Ms. Pan Jun, Chairperson of Beijing Royal Charity Foundation.
Mr. Wang Guangfa, Founder of Beijing Royal Charity Foundation, delivered the welcome address
Mr. Wang gave a review of the fruitful exploration in education modes through the “Peer Leadership for Healthy Relationships” Program and the achievement of youth education, before he looked ahead into the future of Phase II of the Program.
The “Peer Leadership for Healthy Relationships” Program has become a platform to educate the youth, train future diplomats, and nurture international talents. We firmly believe that, through the collaboration of all parties, more children will benefit from the program and become qualified world citizens, through which they can contribute to promoting gender equality and building the community with a shared future for mankind.
Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, delivered a speech
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka hoped that Phase II of the Program could encourage more boys to join in the endeavor, and that young people can share their stories and influence others.
(Mr. Tong Dawei, National UN Women Ambassador for China, delivered a speech)
Mr. Tong Dawei appealed to everyone to actively promote gender equality in daily life. He believed that gender equality relies on the efforts of young people, and the perspectives of the young are critical, and we need to take the unique “youth culture and context” into the publicity efforts, so that our message can reach out to more people.
(The “Dialogue Between the Youth and Adults” Forum)
Q1: Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka, since you used to be a teacher, I would like to know what gender equality issues exist in schools and how to educate students on gender equality?
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka: Through training programs, teachers learn the knowledge themselves, and in everyday practice, teachers approach girls and boys differently. Our teachers will make sure that girls are aware of their rights.
Q2: Ms. Pan Jun, according to my knowledge, female candidates account for 60% of those who registered for postgraduate qualification exam in 2018. Also, the number of girls who excel at study in schools keeps increasing. However, female leadership is still a minority group in our society. As a prominent female entrepreneur, would you please give girls some suggestions on how to strengthen their leadership?
Ms. Pan Jun: I want to share with our female friends these keywords:
“Confidence, wisdom, resolution, independence, ambition;
To dare to challenge yourself, break the limit, to be different, and pursue excellence.”
Q3: Mr. Tong Dawei, from the standpoint of a father and the Goodwill Ambassador of UN Women, what advice do you have on promoting male’s awareness and dedication to gender equality?
Mr. Tong Dawei: I think we should stand in other’s shoes. Every man wants to be confident and successful in their domains, which is a common goal by the man and his significant other.
At the launching ceremony, Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Mr. Wang Guangfa, Mr. Mohammad Naciri, Ms. Pan Jun, and Mr. Li Shaoqing, Deputy Director of Calligrapher’s Association announced the official initiation of the “Peer Leadership for Healthy Relationships” Program.
“Peer Leadership for Healthy Relationships” Program was under the instructions of UN Women, and sponsored by Beijing Royal School. Since 2015, 218 middle and high school students have been taking training sessions to become peer educators to promote gender equality, which helped to establish a positive gender perspective in young people and taught them how to prevent and tackle gender-based discrimination and violence. The Program also aims to develop youngsters who can discuss in-depth international topics related to gender equality. The first pilot project under the theme of “promoting gender equality and preventing gender-based violence” for middle school students in China was created, which promotes gender equality at home and abroad through publicizing and advocating gender equality.
In 2018, UN Women deepened its cooperation with Beijing Royal Charity Foundation and Beijing Royal School. The Phase II of the Program will be based on the achievements from 2015 to 2018 and continue to expand the coverage and influence of the Program. The Program is the first of its kind in China which aims to build a more equal, inclusive, and comprehensive future by raising young people’s awareness of gender equality and sustainability.
